Changed
by WatchfulEyes
Summary: Tristan is back from military school. What will happen? TRORY
1. Not Again

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Changed

A/N: Here's my version of what happens after Tristan comes back from military school. This will take place in their senior year at Chilton. I'm going to try to keep the characters in character as much as I can, but no guarantees…but keep in mind that this is a FanFic, so I can write what I want. All the other questions that might pop into your head will most likely be answered in upcoming chapters. I also have to apologize…I do realize that this chapter is a little…boring, if not another word that better describes it, but please keep in mind that this is the first chapter…I just had to set a few things in place. The other chapters should be filled with romance qualities, or humor, or whatever else I might want to add to it. I think that's it… Oh! The italics represent what a person is thinking…which thoughts belong to which person are made clear, so you shouldn't have any problems reading it (I hope).

Disclaimer: You know the drill: I don't own anything.

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Chapter 1: Not Again

And here I am again…the infamous Chilton. There's something different about the ambience here. The air seemed more thick and harder to breathe in. An eerie feeling seemed to settle onto the grounds and it was not a good feeling to have. But I know that things have changed…I have changed…at least I hope.

***

"What do you want now, Paris?" Rory couldn't help sounding rude, but Paris had been nagging her the whole day on making the changes she had suggested for her article for the paper.

"I just want you to consider changing some of the things in your article. Come on, Rory, I'm just trying to help you to become a better writer." Paris used that tone - that tone that said that if you didn't do what she told you to do, then you would soon find your head severed from your body.

"Paris, my article is perfect the way that it is. Now, if you don't mind, I have a bus to catch." Rory turned in the direction of the main exit, rolling her eyes at Paris while doing so.

"Fine, but I'm just trying to help you out, Rory, but apparently you don't want my help…" Paris' voice started to fade away as Rory saw her only hope of getting away from this distinct version of hell driving away.

"Crap." Rory swore quietly to herself.

"Wow, Rory. I never knew you were so capable of such foul language."

__

That voice…no, it couldn't be. That sarcastic tone in his voice…the low, husky voice…

"Oh, God…please…please don't let it be who I think it is…" Rory couldn't help but pray to the Gods above.

"Well, you know, I've been called many things, but God? I could actually get used to you calling me that." He missed this - being able to playfully mock Rory again. _She looks so beautiful…_

She turned around slowly, hoping that if she took enough time, he wouldn't be there…but to no avail…he was there. "Tristan." she said plainly.

"The one and only. Well, actually, I'm pretty sure that there are other 'Tristans' out there, but…" he reasonably replied.

She was stunned. There he was, standing right in front of her. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, you know, schools are for inputting knowledge in today's youth…"

Rory quickly cut him off. "Tristan," she said sternly.

"I guess my parents decided to bring me back. I'm not exactly sure why, but, I'm here."

She just stood there…staring…

"Rory…? Are you okay?"

"Um," suddenly snapping out of her daze, "yeah, I'm fine. It's just kind of shocking to see you here. That and you haven't called me 'Mary' yet…you actually called me by my real name twice…" She was unsure of what was going on, but she could get used to hearing him say _her_ name.

He chuckled. "Well, I could always go back to calling you 'Mary'…"

"No!" She lunged forward, placing her hand over his mouth as some sort of sad attempt to stop all his thoughts of ever doing that.

"I knew you always wanted to touch these lips of mine." _There's his smirk - that trade-mark smirk that brought a certain something out of his eyes… _He chuckled once more and said, "So, what was all of that 'crap' business about?"

"Oh, I just missed my bus because Paris wouldn't stop yelling at me about my article, and now, I have to wait another two hours before the next bus comes."

"Well, I could always give you a ride," he said while pointing to his car, so conveniently located a few feet away.

"I don't know… I don't want you to go out of your way…"

"Rory, it's fine. Besides, I have nothing better to do anyway, so…"

"Thank you."

They walked over to his car and got in.

"So, what's been going on with you?"

"Nothing, really. Stars Hollow life is kind of low-key, so you can't really expect anything huge to happen."

He smiled. He couldn't help but to. There was something about the way she talked that soothed him…and he loved it. He felt more at ease.

"What?" She looked at him inquisitively as she witnessed the smile upon his face.

"Nothing," he paused. "It's just good to see you again."

Soon she had that same smile on her face. "Same here."

***

"Thanks, Tristan." Rory stepped out of the car. 

"No problem. So I guess that I'll see you in school tomorrow?" He knew that they would, but he just had to hear her voice again.

"Yep. Thanks again. Bye."

"Bye."

***

A rush of emotions suddenly took his whole body over as he watched Rory walk up the porch steps and into her home.

__

Keep it together, DuGrey. It's just a girl… of course she wasn't just a girl… This was a very special girl, one that made him yearn for things that he never knew he wanted and yet, he couldn't even put into words what he felt for her.

Damn. He couldn't afford to start with these 'feelings' again - not after what happened. Not after she made up with Dean in front of him. Not again.


	2. What was That?

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Changed

A/N: I just wanted to say thanks to all the people who reviewed - it's means a lot to me, thanks!

Disclaimer: Don't own anything - never have, probably never will.

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Chapter 2: What was That?

"Hey hon. Why are you late?" Lorelai asked, currently engrossed in a magazine.

"Well, I missed the bus, so I was going to wait for the next one, but then I saw Tristan and he gave me a ride home."

"Wait…why does that name sound familiar?" Lorelai asked herself. "Tristan… Tristan…" Now completely at a loss, she turns her attention back to her daughter. "Okay, you have to help me out here. I know that you've mentioned that name to me before…I just can't remember…"

Rory slightly laughs. "I met Tristan a couple years at Chilton."

Lorelai sat there, still not able to put a face to the name.

"He was the one that called me Mary." Rory reluctantly revealed.

"Oh! Now I know! You know, you could have just started with that. You could have saved me all of that trouble I went through to think." Lorelai threw her hands up in a playful manner.

"My mother, ladies and gentlemen…the only women of her age who simply refuses to think," Rory replies sarcastically.

"Well, thank you. I would start by thanking - wait - what do you mean 'woman of my age'?" Lorelai began to inquisitively look at her daughter.

Rory just smile sweetly and stated, "I have tons of homework, so I'll be in my room."

"Don't you think this is over!" Lorelai began to frown when her daughter disappeared into her room. "And you still have to tell me about Tristan!"

***

~ The next day at Chilton ~

Rory unwillingly steps into the school which turns into an even more unbearable hell each and everyday that she is there. Turning the corner, she notices a certain blonde-headed boy standing next to her locker.

Seeing that he seems to be lost in thought, she just brushes past him to get to her locker, located a few inches away from where Tristan was standing.

"What - no 'hi' or 'good morning'?"

She slightly jumps at the sound of his voice and turns, unconsciously smiling when seeing him.

"Sorry, you seemed to be thinking about something important and I didn't want to interrupt you." Rory opened her locker, placing all the books she needed for her upcoming class and returning those that she didn't need to their rightful place.

"No, I was just waiting for you."

"I knew something didn't add up - you and thinking - now that is just funny - I don't know why I even thought of that." She smiled at Tristan, then looked back into her locker. "Why were you waiting for me?"

"First of all, thank you for that comment."

"No problem."

"Second of all-" Before Tristan could finish his sentence, he's interrupted by Paris.

"Rory! I thought I made it the other day that we were supposed to meet in the library to discuss new topics for articles!" Paris was obviously enraged.

"Sorry, Paris. I-"

"It was my fault," Tristan quickly intervened. 

"What?" both Rory and Paris stunned by his confession.

"Well, I just wanted to ask her if she could help me get caught up in one of the classes we have together and then I that is what made her late for your meeting. Sorry."

Paris glared at Tristan before responding. "She's not late, she missed the meeting completely and I thought that you just started today - how could you possibly already know what classes you have with her?"

"Well…" Tristan desperately searched for an answer, "we were talking yesterday when I gave her a ride home and she told me all the classes that she has."

Paris stood there glaring now both at Tristan and Rory before just walking off without saying another word.

"You didn't have to do that, Tristan," Rory looked at him through appreciative eyes.

"It was nothing," Tristan shrugged. 

"Well, thank you. She probably would have lit me on fire or something." 

Tristan took a step towards Rory and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He looked down into her eyes. "No problem." And with that, he turned and walked away.

Rory stood there in a stunned state. _What was that?_

***

Rory sat in her usual seat in her English Lit class. She was looking at the professor, but couldn't seem to focus on anything that he was saying.

__

Why did he kiss me? Well, okay, not really kiss, but one on the cheek is still a kiss…right? Stop! What is wrong with you, Rory? It was nothing…it's just Tristan.

The bell soon disrupted her thoughts. She made her way down the stairs and out the door. She went to her locker one last time, collecting all of her homework and all of the necessary items in order to accomplish it. She stepped out the double doors and once again found him. She silently made her way behind him and covered his eyes. In a low voice, she asked, "Guess who?"

"How about if I don't and you keep touching me?" They both laughed as Rory brought her hand down away from his face and he turned around. "Did you need something?"

"Well, I remembered you saying that you wanted to tell me something this morning but I kind of forgot due to Paris. So, I came to see what it was."

"Um…it was nothing." _Damn it, DuGrey. Just tell her._

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Do you need a ride?"

"Nope. I'm actually not late for the bus today," Rory replied in a flirtful manner, not even realizing until she had actually said it. She looked down at her shoes, hoping that he didn't pick up on it.

He laughed playfully at her sudden bashfulness. "Well, Mary, I guess I'll just see you tomorrow then." He looked into her eyes for a few seconds more then turned and headed towards his car.

__

Mary…I think I could actually get used to that nickname now.


	3. Those Strong, Blue Eyes

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A/N: Italics represent thoughts, whose they are should be pretty obvious.

Disclaimer: Don't own Gilmore Girls, don't own Rory or Tristan or any of the other characters I mention either.  


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Chapter 3: Those Strong, Blue Eyes

"Mom, I'm home!"

"Hi, sweets, I'm in the living room!"

Rory set her backpack down next to the couch then sat down next to her mother.

"How was your day at school?"

"It was okay, but I had a hard time focusing."

"And why's that?"

"I don't know," Rory semi-lied.

"Sure…" Lorelai nodded curiously while watching her daughter tense up slightly. "Alright, spill."

"I don't know what you mean." Rory tried not to look at her mom, because she knew that if she did, the look in her eyes would give it away.

"Yes, you do. Something's is up. And if you don't tell me now, I will find a way to find what you are hiding."

"I'm not hiding anything." She paused. "I was talking to Tristan this morning and he did me this favor by making Paris go away, which I have to figure out how he does because that would really come in handy in the future, anyway, I said 'thank you' then he kissed me and said 'no problem'."

"Oh. Wait! He kissed you?!"

"On the cheek, mom."

"Oh…oh! That's why your attention has been all wacko - you were thinking about him!" Lorelai was proud that she came to that conclusion, but Rory was beginning to freak out.

"He is not the reason why I haven't been able to focus, mother!" Rory turned and stomped to her room, slamming the door behind her. _Oh, crap…why did I act like that?_

***

~ The next day at Chilton ~

Rory trudged through the halls of Chilton, regretting how she acted towards her mom; she wasn't even sure why she reacted that way - why she was so defensive.

She looked up at her locker, ready to reach up to put in the very familiar combination when she noticed that she had an audience.

"What are you doing here, Tristan?"

"I wanted to tell you something," he said coolly.

"Are you actually going to tell me or change your mind like you did yesterday?" Rory asked half-seriously, half-sarcastically.

"Yes," Tristan rolled his eyes, "I'm actually going to tell you, but not now - after school."

"Okay, but why can't you tell me now?"

"I just have to figure out what I'm going to say to you exactly."

"O…kay…you're going to plan out what you're going to say to me?" Rory asked confusingly.

"Not exactly plan, but…work out what I want to say…"

"When do you ever 'work out what you want to say'?" Rory was now enjoying herself listening to Tristan's responses.

"Well, probably started just last night." he said plainly.

Rory stood there, staring at him with curious eyes.

He shrugged his shoulders. "What?"

Just as Rory was about to answer, the bell rang, signaling their presence in their class. She quickly grabbed all the books that she needed from her locker and headed off to class with Tristan following closely behind. 

"Don't you have to get to class?" Rory asked, picking up her pace.

"My class is this way."

Before they knew it, they were both stepping into the same class. They both looked at each other and started to smile when the teacher came up behind them and told everyone to take their seat. Tristan sat down at the back of the room - where he usually sat with all of his friends - and Rory sat near the front.

Rory couldn't help but feel like Tristan was staring at her, watching her every movement as she was trying to listen to the teacher talk. She unconsciously turned around, only to be met with his strong, blue eyes - those beautiful, piercing eyes that radiated this feeling of warmth towards her. Her face soon began to beam with happiness and soon found him smiling back with the same emotion.

"Ms. Gilmore!" The teacher's voice soon shocked Rory back into reality as she abruptly turned around to meet his eyes.

"Yes?" she replied, hoping that he didn't know who she was staring at.

"Would you mind keeping your eyes towards the front and paying attention to the lesson rather than staring at Mr. DuGrey back there?"

Rory's face turned red as everyone in the classroom started to laugh. "Yes, sir." She sank down into her desk, wishing that she could just disappear.

***

"What was that?" asked an inquisitive voice from behind her.

"What was what, Paris?" Rory sighed flatly, hoping that Paris wouldn't pry too much - but to no avail, Paris proved her wrong.

"That little staring match between you and Tristan in class. Don't think that I, or probably everyone else, didn't notice."

"It was nothing, Paris. Now can you just leave me alone? I have to catch my bus." Rory walked off, expecting Paris to keep questioning her, but Paris didn't, surprising her again.

Rory got to the double-doors that led outside. Just as she was about to step out, she saw Tristan in the parking lot, waiting. _Who is he waiting for - me?_ Then Rory remembered that he wanted to tell her something after school. But she couldn't face him, not after what happened in their class. She stood there, her body tensing up after each moment passed, trying to come up with a way to dodge Tristan, all the while making her way to her bus on time. _When did my life become this complicated?_

"Rory!" She looked up and noticed that Tristan had seen her. She reluctantly walked towards him, trying not to look at him in the eyes, but couldn't help but to.

"Hey," she said softly while looking down at the ground.

He nodded. "So…what's going on?" Rory could tell that he was trying to lighten up the mood.

She looked back up at him, smiling slightly. "Nothing much. You?"  


"Not much here either."

They stood in silence for a few more moments before Rory finally broke it.

"So, you wanted to tell me something?"

Tristan looked at her, attempting to remember what he had wanted to say to her for the longest time now, but he forgot. The moment she looked at him with her soulful eyes, he forgot. His gaze soon shifted as he noticed her bus driving away. "I think you missed your bus," he said while pointing behind her.

Rory turned and groaned out loud as her transportation had driven away without her for the second day in a row. "How am I going to get home now?" Rory whispered to herself, forgetting the pair of blue eyes that was staring at her still.

"I could drive you home."

She turned her attention back to Tristan who looked at her with hope in his eyes - hope that prayed that she would accept his offer.

"Okay," she answered with a thankful smile.

***

The car ride to Stars Hollow was quiet, excluding the occasional cough or sigh that occurred. Tristan pulled into her driveway and turned off his engine.

"So…"

"Um, I should probably get inside." 

"Yeah, that would be a good idea. Let me walk you."

They both got out of the car and walked up the steps to her house. 

"Wait, you wanted to tell me something, right?"

"Yeah, but it can probably wait 'til tomorrow."

"Why don't you just tell me now?" Rory tilted her head slightly, looking to see if she could somehow read what he wanted to say.

"It's not the most easiest thing I've had to say, so you can kind of see the hesitation here."

"Well, then find some other way to tell me. You could write it down, or maybe do that charades thing-"

Tristan cut off her sentence as he brought his hand up to the side of her face. He took a couple steps closer to her, only a few inches separating them.

Rory could feel her heart race faster and faster as Tristan came closer to her. As he started to lower his head to her lips, they heard a voice.

Rory tore her gaze away from Tristan and looked towards where she heard her name being called.

"Dean."


	4. So Close

**Changed**

A/N: Thanks to all the people that reviewed, means a lot to me!

Disclaimer: Don't own anything!

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Chapter 4: So Close…

Rory involuntarily stepped away from Tristan as Dean made his way towards the porch.

Dean eyed the two suspiciously before speaking. "Hey, Rory. I left my jacket here last night. Can I go get it?" Dean only looked at Rory, not even acknowledging Tristan's presence.

"Yeah, go ahead."

Dean opened the door and disappeared into the house. Rory stepped closer to the house the shut the door. When she turned to Tristan, she saw that he had already begun to walk away from her.

"Tristan!"

He turned around slowly, not wanting to meet her gaze. "What?" His response came out more coldly than he wanted it to.

"It's not what you think." Her eyes showed that they were beginning to fear that he was suspecting the worst.

"What do I think?" His face was expressionless - just blank and staring at her.

Before she could explain, Dean re-emerged from the house, thanking Rory. She turned her attention over to Dean again, but that's when she heard the start of an engine and tires driving away. She felt her heart clench tighter as Tristan's car disappeared from sight.

"Rory?" She turned around to face Dean, who kind of had a satisfied look on his face.

"Oh, shut up." She pushed past Dean and slammed the door.

***

"Mom?" Rory looked up from her History book as she heard the front door open then close. Soon enough, her mother appeared, displaying a tiring expression, which was no doubt from the long hours of the day she had worked at the inn.

Lorelai made her way to her daughter then sat down next to her on the couch. "Hey, babe, how was school today?" Lorelai asked, I hopes that they could push away the fight they had the night before into the farthest corner of their minds.

"Interesting," was all that Rory could manage to say.

"What do you mean by interesting?" Lorelai was now pulled into the conversation and positioned herself so that she was facing Rory.

"Well, an unfortunate incident that involved me, Tristan, and the English teacher, which I'll tell you about later, then after I missed my bus, Tristan drove me home."

"Uh huh…go on," Lorelai said wide-eyed and intrigued.

"Then he walked me up to the porch-"

"Oh! What a gentleman!" Lorelai cut Rory in a girlish voice.

"Do you want to hear this or not, mom?" Lorelai nodded. "Ok. He said that he wanted to tell me something earlier today, but I kind of forgot until then, so I asked him what it was. Then I started babbling or something like that and he brought his hand up to face and almost kissed me." Rory was smiling now; she couldn't help but to while replaying the events in her head.

"What do you mean 'almost kissed'?"

"Well, Dean came and interrupted us."

Lorelai gasped. "Oh, no! That boy has the worst timing ever!"

Rory frowned at how Tristan left. "Yeah. But then Tristan left, so I couldn't explain to him why Dean was here last night." 

Both girls were quiet for a while.

"Did you want Tristan to kiss you?" Lorelai inquired, already knowing the answer because of her daughter's huge smile when she just thought of said guy.

Rory smiled more, trying to imagine what it would be like to kiss him. "Yeah…I think I did." Rory sat for a few more moments, before gathering up her things and heading towards her room. She turned around when she reached the kitchen and looked at her mother. "Thanks, mom. And I'm sorry about last night."

Lorelai smiled at her daughter and said, "It's already forgotten."

***

Rory had already been at school for a half an hour and there was no sign of Tristan. Usually by now, she would be talking to him by now, and she kind of missed that. She walked through the long hall until she found herself in the library. She walked towards the back and found Tristan sitting in the corner at a table. She smiled to herself before making her way towards him.

"Hey." Tristan looked up at her briefly, not saying anything, before returning his attention to the book in his hands. "I wanted to explain yesterday to you. It's not-"

"What I think?" Tristan finished her sentence.

She looked at him sadly. "No, it isn't."

He stood up and shoved his book in his backpack before starting to walk away. "I can't believe I forgot that you were with Bag Boy - I'm such an idiot!"

Rory reached out to grab his arm, forcing him to turn around and look at her. "You're not an idiot." she said seriously. "And I'm not with Dean. We actually broke up a couple months ago. And as for why he left his jacket, I was helping him study for this test that he has later this week. I wanted to tell you that yesterday, but you left before I could," she finished while looking at the floor.

Tristan smiled inwardly, then mentally slapped himself for making such a big deal of it. "Oh," was all that he could say.

Rory let go of Tristan's arm and said, "Yeah." She took in a couple of deep breaths before speaking again. "So, I should go - have to get to class." She started to walk past him, fighting the urge to just turn around and hug him.

"Wait." Tristan softly grabbed her arm and stepped towards her. "I'm sorry," he whispered into her hair.

She couldn't help but feel happy when he was that close to her. "I'm the one who should be sorry…and I am." She stood still, waiting for his response.

"Don't be." She turned around and hugged him. He smiled as he pulled her closer to him.

***

She smiled through her classes, relieved and happy that she was once again friends with Tristan.

When lunch came, she went about her usual routine - getting her food on the tray which she never ate, then finding an empty table she could sit at to listen to her music and read.

After about five minutes, someone sat down by her, but she was so into her book that she didn't notice.

"Rory…? Rory…?" the voice said in a sing-songy voice. When she didn't turn her attention away from the book, a pair of hands waved themselves in front of her face.

She slightly jumped, then looked to her right. Tristan. She smiled slightly, then turned her attention back to her book. "What do you want?" she asked while still trying to read her book. 

Tristan laughed then grabbed the book away from her, placing it behind him after he turned so that one leg was on each side of the seat.

"Give it back," she said in a stern voice, but her smile gave away that she was just playing around.

"Nope," Tristan shook his head. "If you want it, you'll have to get it yourself." Tristan smirked at her, wondering if she would actually take action.

She looked at him for a couple seconds then got up. "You're impossible." She walked away, eventually finding herself in a stranded hallway. She made her way to her locker to put her Discman back in before Tristan finally caught up with her.

"Rory, here." He placed the book in her hand then took a step back.

She eyed him suspiciously then said 'thanks'. After placing the book and Discman in her locker, she shut it, then leaned up against it, facing Tristan. "You still haven't told me what you wanted to tell me yesterday." She smirked, remembering the moment that they had.

"I thought what I wanted to say was pretty obvious." he whispered, barely enough for her to hear him.

She didn't know what to say. She just stood there, watching him take in breaths.

"Are you going to say something?" he asked, mimicking her position against the lockers.

"I want to, but I don't know what to say." she replied bashfully, now looking down the hallway behind him.

He took a step towards her. "Just say whatever comes to mind." 

A few moments of silence passed before she answered. "I wonder what would have happened if Dean didn't interrupt us yesterday." She slowly looked up into his eyes.

He smiled genuinely and took another step towards her until they were just inches apart. "Me, too."

She tilted her head up and slowly made her way closer to his lips.

"Excuse me." They broke apart to find that Paris was standing beside them. "I need to get to my locker." She sounded unbelievably angry, seemingly at what she just saw. Tristan and Rory moved aside, cursing people who just loved to interrupt their 'moments'.

Tristan and Rory looked up at each other before Paris abruptly slammed her locker shut and grabbed Rory by the arm, dragging her down the hall away from Tristan.

Paris pushed Rory into an empty classroom and shut the door. "What the hell was that!!"

Rory was honestly a little frightened by Paris' actions and didn't answer.

"What the hell are you doing kissing Tristan?!"

Rory started to stutter, not able to put together a sentence, nonetheless, a word. "Wha..I..it…" Paris groaned angrily and stormed out of the room. Rory stood there, open-mouthed, totally confused about what just happened.

"Rory? Are you okay?" Tristan walked into the room, quickly making his way to where Rory was standing.

Rory looked up at Tristan. "I think she's mad."


	5. Complications

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A/N: Italics represent thoughts, as you all probably know by now. By the way, thanks to all the reviewers - you are all very sweet and I love your comments!

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Chapter 5: Complications

Rory spent the remainder of the day trying to stay clear of Paris. She breathed in a sigh of relief when the last bell rang. All she had to do was go to her locker to get all the stuff that she needed then she could get on her bus and head home.

__

Yes! Rory made it onto the bus. She took her seat in the back and pulled out a book that would keep her occupied for the ride home.

***

She took in the smell of her cozy home as she set down her backpack in her room. She then walked up the stairs that led up to her mom's room. "Mom? You in here?"

"Bathroom." Rory followed her mom's voice to the bathroom. "What's up, babe?"

"Well, Paris dragged me into an empty classroom and screamed at me after she found me and Tristan almost kissing in the hallway."

"Oh, my God…where do I even start?" Lorelai's voice was now full of shock. "You almost kissed Tristan again?"

"Um, yeah. After we talked for a few minutes we…yeah."

Lorelai stood there in the bathroom looking at her daughter through the mirror. Then she turned abruptly. "My little baby's growing up!" Lorelai stepped towards Rory, pulling her into a big hug then kissing her on the cheek.

"Mom!" Rory pushed out of her mom's hold then ran down the stairs. 

"What? You are!"

***

Rory was in her room finishing up her homework when the phone rang. She got up and headed towards the living room, in search for the phone. After a couple more rings, she answered. "Hello?" After a few moments of silence, she was about to hang up when she finally heard a familiar voice.

"Rory?"

"Dean…um, hi," Rory said a little surprised.

"Hey. I was just wondering if you would help me study again tonight. I'm never going to get that History stuff down, but I'm kind of getting there."

Rory sighed noticeably. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Ok, thanks. Now, what's wrong?" Dean asked referring to her huge sigh.

"It's nothing really."

"Ah, something to do with that guy I saw you with the other day, huh?"

"No, not at all." Rory wanted to avoid the subject of her and Tristan with Dean.

"Oh, come on. I can tell that you're lying."

"I guess I'm going to have to work on that. I am lying a little, but I don't really want to talk about it."

"Ok…" Dean wanted to know; he wanted to know who was going to be in her life; he needed to know.

***

Rory sat on the couch of her living room reading a book, waiting for Dean to come for their study session.

As she heard the doorbell ring, she called out, "Finally! I thought that you would never get here, De-" Rory paused after she opened the door, finding Tristan there, instead of Dean.

"Wow, I didn't know that you wanted to see me this bad." Rory laughed as she saw a smirk grow Tristan's face.

"Yeah, I just thought that you were someone else."

"Someone else, huh. You wouldn't happen to be seeing someone behind my back, now would you?" Tristan asked in a seductive tone.

"Um, actually-"

"Hey, Rory. Sorry I'm late." Dean ran up the stairs to her door, not noticing Tristan there, who was starting to get a little mad. Dean cleared his throat, "I'll just be inside."

Rory looked up at Tristan, expecting to see his face red with anger. "Tristan, we're just going to study."

Tristan looked at her blankly. "Sure, you don't have to explain. It's not like you have to check in with me whenever you're going to do something with another guy."

Rory looked at him with confusion on her face. "I know, it's just with what's happened between us lately, I-"  


"'What's happened between us'? Nothing has happened between us, so you don't have to worry." Tristan turned his back to Rory and walked away.

***

__

Why did you say those things? You're such an idiot, DuGrey! Tristan continued to drive, until he arrived in the front of his house. He then walked in and headed up to his room. He walked over to his bed and fell onto it, hoping that sleep would wash over him, allowing him to forget what had happened.

***

Rory opened her eyes to a somewhat sun-lit room. She felt so tired. She spent three hours the previous nights trying to stick history facts in Dean's head. But that was not tired her out; the whole time, Dean kept on insisting that she tell him everything about her and Tristan. She couldn't take it anymore, so she just sent him home. She wanted more than anything to just not think about how Tristan had acted and Dean's pushing of the subject wasn't helping.

Rory reluctantly got up out of her bed to take a shower. After she was done and dressed in her Chilton uniform, she went to see if her mom wanted to go with her to get some coffee.

After 30 minutes, the mother and daughter found themselves in _Luke's_ drinking coffee.

"Sorry, mom, but I got to head out to school now." She gave her mom a hug then headed out to the bus stop.

***

Rory stepped into the halls of Chilton, unconsciously making sure that Tristan was nowhere in sight. With a sigh, she walked to her first class.

The school day was long - way too long. She hadn't talked to Tristan or seen him except in the classes that they had together, and even then, it seemed like he was trying to ignore her.

As the last bell rang, Rory headed to her locker - something that she mindlessly did as her hand put in the combination. As she was about to open it, she noticed that Tristan was walking in her direction. She stopped and looked at him. As soon as he noticed that she was watching him, he stopped and turned to head out the door.

Rory was mad now. She ran out the door, finding Tristan near the side of the school where his car was parked. "Tristan!"

He knew that she would come after him. He stopped, acknowledging her presence, but didn't turn around.

"Tristan, look at me." Tristan slowly turned around, finding her close to him. "Why are you avoiding me?"

Tristan just shrugged his shoulders and looked at her expressionlessly.

"God, I can't believe you! First you practically accuse me of being with Dean when I'm not, then you say that there is nothing between us at all!"

"Rory-"

"No! I mean, how could you even say that?"

"Rory-"

She once again cut him off. "Or do you always do this with girls? Pretend that you want to kiss them, pretend that you want then, then cut them out of your life-"

Rory's rant came to an end as Tristan's lips came in contact with hers. 


	6. In Your Arms

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Changed

A/N: Same old, same old…italics are their thoughts.

Thank you to all the reviewers: Nice-one - you are so cool! I love Tristan, too. I swoon just thinking about him J . MestFanFicAddict, Jazz14, Smile1, not4me, AnGelKiSsEs2, Tristanlover59, Fancyeyes, jessiebite, troryluvvv, and all of the anonymous reviewers - thank you for your kind words! They mean a lot to me and it's really awesome thing to know that people actually read my stuff - thanks again!

Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

****

Chapter 6: In Your Arms 

Rory got home an hour later with a huge smile plastered on her face. She could think of nothing else but the kiss that she and Tristan had shared. After they kissed, Tristan had taken her home and kissed her again after he walked her to the door.

"Mom! Are you home?" She ran up to Lorelai's room, excited to tell her mom about what just happened.

"Yep." Rory heard her mom's voice from her room and came in and sat on her bed. "Why are you so happy?" Lorelai eyed her daughter curiously as Rory's smile grew wider.

"We kissed." Rory started to blush at the thought of Tristan's lips on hers.

"What?!"

"It was after school and I started yelling at him and then he kissed me."

Lorelai paused for a few minutes before actually speaking. "Rory…are you sure about him?" Lorelai slowly raised her gaze to Rory, afraid she would get mad at the asked question.

"What do you mean?" Rory had a confused look in her eyes. 

"It's just that with Tristan's record with woman…you can understand my…concern about _you_ getting together with him."

Rory paused. She didn't really think about it. She was so caught up in all the feelings that Tristan brought her that she had forgotten all about Tristan's history. "I think I'm old enough to make my own decisions."

"I know you are, but that doesn't mean that I can't worry about you."

Rory sighed. "I know, but can you just try to stay out of it…? I mean, I want it to be my decision and mine only."

Lorelai frowned at her daughter's comment. "I guess I can try, but I want you to know that if you need me for anything, you know where I am."

"I know. Thanks, mom." Rory hugged her mom, then proceeded to head to her own room.

***

She couldn't get to sleep. After what her mom said to her earlier that day, she couldn't help but think about only that. _Come on, Rory, this is Tristan. He means so much to you, why doubt him? But he has been with so many girls…how can I not think about it?_

***

Those terrible thoughts of Tristan plagued her mind as she walked through the hallway, in hopes of reaching her locker soon. She opened her locker just as a pair of arms encircled her waist.

"Hey, you." His voice was low and sexy and irresistible to Rory. All uncertainties went flying out of her head.

She turned around and wrapped her arms around Tristan's neck. In the same low, sexy voice, she replied back, "Hey, you."

Tristan chuckled then lowered his head down to kiss her. After their kiss, she opened her eyes and smiled as she took him in. He was even more cute, more sexy, more of everything.

"Well, Rory Gilmore, I've got to say, you look exceptionally beautiful today."

"Well, Tristan DuGrey," Rory mimicked how he phrased his sentence, "I've got to say, you look exceptionally handsome today."

Tristan was now smirking, enjoying Rory's comment and new attitude.

"Can I walk you to class?"

"Of course, but only if you carry my books." Rory lifted her head in a playful way and put her books in his hands.

"Wow. This is what it's going to be like now, huh - you bossing me around and carrying things for you?"

Rory stopped and pretended to think of his question. "Basically." Rory started to walk away, then looked back at Tristan and smiled. 

He caught up with her, laughing once again. That's what he loved about being around her - she was always able to make him laugh in a way that he never did before and feel things he never knew he could.

***

Rory sat there in English class, returning to the state she was in before she talked to Tristan this morning. She sighed as the teacher droned on about tragic flaws and other stuff that she unconsciously tuned out. She then smiled thinking about the humiliation the same teacher had brought to her when she was caught staring at Tristan. She turned her head slightly in Tristan's direction to find that he was actually paying attention to what the teacher was saying. He looked so amazing - his eyes were showed that he was in his thinking mode; his eyebrows were scrunched together a little bit, as if it were going to help him concentrate a little more; he slouched down a little bit in his seat with his chin resting on his hand that was propped up on his desk. She smiled once again before returning her gaze to the teacher.

***

After the bell rang, she got up out of her seat and placed her binder and book in her backpack. As she was about to turn to see if Tristan had left yet, she felt him kiss the back of her neck and give her a hug. "Well, it's nice to see you, too," Rory said while turning around.

"I kind of figured since you were checking me out all during class." A sparkle began to form in Tristan's eyes as he saw Rory's checks turn an incredible light pink color.

"I was not checking you out." Rory rolled her eyes in an attempt to throw him off, then started to walk out of the room.

"Hey, I'm not complaining." Tristan threw his hands up. "I would just rather have you doing it when I'm actually paying full attention to you and there isn't about 20 other people in the room." Tristan had a big grin on his face.

"If you weren't paying any attention, then how did you know that I was staring at you?" Rory then looked down, noticing that she had admitted to his friendly accusation.

"Ah…so you were looking?"

Rory closed her eyes, knowing that she was going to have to admit defeat. "Fine, I was looking at you, but you were looking at me, too." Rory raised her finger and pointed at him.

"Yes, I was, but at least I'm not afraid to admit it."

Rory stared at Tristan for a few minutes then started to walk away from him. "I'm going to late for class."

Tristan watched as she walked away. _Great. Nice going, dufus._

***

After school, Rory stocked her backpack up with all her homework and books. She put all of her attention into the book she brought with her everywhere to read. 

He saw her walk out of the doors of the school and called out her name. "Rory!" She didn't look up, so he assumed that she was too into her book. He started to jog up to her. When he reached out his hand to grab her arm, she turned around, almost resulting in Tristan running into her.

She smiled slightly when she met his gaze. "I thought I heard someone call my name." Her voice was soft, but loud enough for him to hear.

"Then why didn't you turn around?" 

Rory noticed that Tristan's voice had a slight tint of hurt in it. She didn't know what to say, so she just shrugged her shoulders.

Tristan stood there for a while before asking, "Rory, are you mad at me for some reason?"

"Of course not. Why would you even think that?" Rory voice was again soft and sincere.

"I don't know. I know that it's only been a day, but you seemed to pay more attention to me before…all of this…than you do now."

Rory put her backpack on the ground and laced her fingers behind his neck and looked into his eyes. "I'm so sorry, Tristan. I've just had a lot on my mind. I didn't mean to make you feel like that. Please know that I would never purposely do that."

Tristan put his arms around Rory's waist before commenting. "I know now." They both smiled and shared a tender kiss. "Come over to my house today."

"Tristan…"

"To study, I promise."

Rory smiled at his anxiousness to spend time alone with her. "I would love more than anything to be with you tonight, but I have to go over to my grandparents' house tonight for dinner."

"Then just stay with me until you have to go," Tristan brought his hands up her arms, making her hands come down to intertwine with his, "please?"

Rory sighed. "Alright. I just need to tell my mom and figure out what I am going to do about what to wear."

"Well, I can drive up there with you and you can tell your mom and get something to wear, also."

"Sounds like a plan." Rory kissed Tristan once more before they headed towards his car.

***

"Mom, are you here?" Rory stepped into her house as Tristan waited next to the door. After she looked in the kitchen and living room and called for Lorelai upstairs, she assumed that she was at Sookie's or the diner. "I don't think she's here. You want to come in while I try to go find a dress?"

"Sure." Tristan took slow steps into the house, inspecting every corner he could see. 

After a few minutes, Rory emerged from her room in jeans and a t-shirt, while holding the dress shoes she was planning to wear that evening and proceeded to write her mother a note explaining where she was going to be and that she would meet her for the dinner tonight. They then headed out to Tristan's car to go back to Hartford.

***

"Rory, we've been working for two hours straight. Can't we take a break?" Tristan pleaded.

"Tristan, you said that if I came over, we would study the whole time." Rory continued to try to read through the notes that were written in her notebook.

"True, I did say that we would study, but I didn't say that we were going to the whole time." Tristan started to make his way to his desk in his room where Rory was sitting and grabbed her arms, gently urging her to stand.

"Tristan…"

"Dance with me."

"What?"

"Dance with me."

Rory laughed a little. "There's no music."

"I don't need music to want to dance with you."

Rory sighed contently as she and Tristan stepped away from the desk to the middle of the room, starting to dance to their own beat.

After a few minutes, Rory yawned, signaling just how tired she actually was.   


"Do you want to take a nap?" Tristan backed away from her slightly and looked down into her eyes.

"No, that's okay." Rory tried to convince Tristan that she wasn't tired at all, but that came crashing down when she yawned again.

"Come on, Rory. You still have about…" Tristan glanced at the clock on his stand, "three hours until you have to go that dinner of yours. I'll even set the alarm so that you get up in time." Without waiting for her response, Tristan led her to his bed and lightly pushed her so that she sat on the bed, then he sat right beside her.

"I'm not going to sleep in the same bed as you."

"Why? You afraid you going to do something…naughty?" Tristan raised his eyebrows at her.

"Alright, back to studying." Rory tried to get up, but Tristan stopped her.

"Come on, Rory, I was just kidding. You and I both know how tired you are, so just sleep."

Rory stared at him inquisitively before finally giving in and lying down on his bed. He soon followed her actions and lied down next to her. 

"Don't you dare try anything, mister." She waved her finger at him before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.

***

Tristan woke up an hour later, finding Rory wrapped in his arms, sleeping. He smiled as he watched her take breaths in. She looked so beautiful. Her forehead was slightly pressed up against his chest and one hand was on his waist while the other was touching his stomach. Tristan kissed the top of her head before letting a peaceful sleep wash over him, forgetting Rory's prior engagement she had later that night.


	7. What Are You Doing To Me?

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Changed

A/N: Thank you for all the reviews. I hope you enjoy this chapter, too.

Disclaimer: You know it, I don't own it.

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Chapter 7: Working It Out

Rory's eyes fluttered opened, noticing the secure warmth around her. She took in a deep breath and raised her eyes to find Tristan holding onto her, still asleep. She automatically smiled as she gazed over every feature on his face. She turned to where the clock was located on Tristan's stand and read 7:30. She turned back to sink into Tristan's embrace before it finally hit her. She quickly sat up and yelled out, "7:30! How can it already be 7:30! I was supposed to be there an hour ago!" She shook Tristan, then got up off the bed to change as Tristan reluctantly opened his eyes.

"Rory, what's wrong?" Tristan rubbed his eyes, obviously not having heard Rory's outburst.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?! I was supposed to be at my grandparents' house an hour ago! And why the hell didn't you set your alarm clock like you said you would?" She frantically made her way to the bathroom to slip into her dress, unaware of how she had just exploded at Tristan.

"Rory, I'm sorry. I guess I just forgot," he lied. He couldn't help it. He wanted her all to himself tonight, but it didn't hit him until that precise moment how much of an impact doing, or not doing, something so simple would have on her. He stood in front of the door, resting his hand upon the cold wood.

Rory quickly put on her dress, then opened the door and pushed past Tristan to find her shoes. "I have to go now, before I'm even more late."  


"Well, I'm sure that everyone will understand once you explain what happened."

Rory paused in her tracks. "'Explain what happened?'" Rory looked at Tristan with disbelief. "Oh, yeah, what a great idea. 'Hey, mom, grandma, grandpa, the reason why I'm so late tonight is because I fell asleep with my boyfriend in his bed.'" Rory scoffed before sitting down in a chair to get her shoes on. "That wouldn't give them all a heart attack."

"I just meant tell them that we got so caught up in studying that we lost track of time. I'm sure that they would understand and forgive your tardiness."

Rory looked up at Tristan after finishing buckling her heels, displaying a very agitated look. "Can you just drive me over there? Please?" Her voice was cold - for some reason unknown to her. She didn't know why she was acting so terrible to Tristan; it was true - if she told everyone that she lost track of time studying, they would forget about it and go about their business as usual.

Tristan tried to conceal the hurt on his face, but it didn't go unseen by Rory. Her face softened after seeing his look, and sighed deeply while walking up to him. She rose her hands up to his chest. "I'm really sorry, Tristan. I didn't mean to act so mean towards you, I just have to go. Ok?" She peered into his eyes, as hers gave off how sorry she really was, before placing a soft kiss on his lips.

Tristan pulled away from her and grabbed his keys from his desk. "Let's go."

Rory's heart seemed to pain as she sensed how hurt Tristan still was. She mentally slapped herself for acting so stupid and talking to him like that. She silently grabbed her backpack and clothes then followed Tristan out of the house.

***

It wasn't until when Rory was in front of her grandparents' house that she felt how empty and cold she was without Tristan's arms around her. She slowly lifted her hand and rang the doorbell. The maid opened the door, greeting the woman who felt like she was shrinking down in size after each passing moment. "Good evening, Miss Gilmore. Your grandparents and mother are in the dining room." After saying her 'thanks' and taking off her jacket to hang on the coat rack, she took her time in making her way to the dining room where everyone was located.

"Rory, where have you been?" Emily asked inquisitively, purposely making the look of 'you-should-know-better-than-to-be-late-to-an-engagement-you-promised-to-be-at'.

"I'm so sorry, everyone. We were just so caught up in studying, that we lost track of time and we didn't notice how late it actually was until just a few minutes ago." The excuse had rolled so easily off her tongue that she found herself totally disgusted. How could she lie to her family so simply?

"Oh," Emily's face lit up, "well, come on and sit down. You must be starving. Who were you studying with?" Rory inwardly laughed at her grandmother's ability to change moods without any thought or trouble.

Before she could open her mouth to answer, her mom chimed in. "Well, she was with her _boyfriend_," Lorelai said while making kissing noises.

Rory sighed and slightly rolled her eyes at her mom. She looked up to see the perplexed expressions on her grandparent's faces. "I was studying with Tristan DuGrey."

Richard's voice seemed so delighted. "Really! What a fine young man. I must say that you have very exquisite taste in men." 

Rory stared weirdly at her grandpa at what he had just said, and also kind of silently chuckled because his words made Tristan sound like some kind of heavenly food. "Um, thanks," Rory said unsurely.

"Wait," Emily's scrunched a little while recalling the past, "weren't you going out with that boy…Dean?"

Rory uncomfortably shifted in her seat at the sound of her ex-boyfriend's name. "Yeah, but we broke up a while ago." Rory couldn't help but see the ever-growing grin on her grandfather's face. "What?"

"All the better with. You were too good for him, Rory. You fit better with someone like Tristan DuGrey." 

The room fell silent as Rory remembered the night when her grandpa had carelessly brushed off Dean and rudely ignored his presence.

***

The car ride home was silent and seemed to take three times as long. Tonight was like hell at dinner. After her grandpa had made that remark, she and Lorelai had gone to Dean's rescue, arguing that he was probably the best first-boyfriend any girl could have. But that only made him more mad as he saw his daughter and grand-daughter try to prove his opinion wrong. They had left the house in anger and now here they were.

Lorelai started to drum her fingers on the steering wheel before asking the question she had wanted to ask all night long. "Were you actually late because you were studying?" She trusted her daughter with all her heart, but Tristan was someone that threatened that trust.

Rory continued to stare down at her dress, playing with the silky fabric. "We fell asleep," she replied softly, now hoping that her mother didn't hear.

A worried look overcame Lorelai's features as she feared the worst. "Oh," she answered simply. "Were you at least in different parts of the room.?" she asked with hope evident in her voice.

Rory scrunched her eyebrows together a little before answering, almost sure that she would regret it. "No. We slept in the same bed." Rory closed her eyes, expecting her mother to stop the car and kick her out of it, or something equally as bad, if not worse. But Lorelai said nothing, she just remained silent.

Rory almost let out a sigh of relief as their house came into view. Her mother had hurriedly gotten out of the car and scampered into the house. Rory slugged towards the house, not wanting to argue. She stepped through the doorway and went to her room to grab some pajamas. She then went to bathroom, wanting to shower off the incident that had happened, both at her grandparents' and her explosion at Tristan.

She got out of the semi-elegant dress and under-garments and steeped into the shower, inviting the hot water to stream over her body. She just stood there, with her hand on the still cold tile in front of her. She wanted to cry, not really sure why.

***

She sadly sifted through the hallway. It was already lunch and she had yet to see Tristan. Tiredness poured out from her as her limp body parts tried to carry her up to the library. She didn't feel like eating; she couldn't. she forced her body to go a little further as she was near a far corner of the almost empty room. She sat down lazily and rested her head on the table, wishing that she had a pillow with her. Just as she was about to drift off to sleep, she heard his voice.

"Rory?"

Her head shot up to meet his gaze, filled with worry. She tried to smile, but was even too tired to do that. She had so much trouble falling asleep last night, plagued with memories of how much she had hurt him and the fear that he would no longer want her. "Yeah?" she replied before returning her head to her previous position. Her response came out more like a yawn than anything else.

"Are you alright? You don't look too good."

Rory's answer was muffled, "Well, thanks, you look good, too."

Tristan took a seat next to her and rubbed her neck softly with his hand. "Really, what's wrong?"

She sighed deeply. "I was so worried about last night that I couldn't sleep."

"Really? I was pretty sure that your grandparents and mom wouldn't be that mad-"

"No, I wasn't up because of that." she interrupted, "I was up because I couldn't help but think of how much I disappointed you last night - at how stupid I was." 

He scooted toward her and gently maneuvered her head so that she would face him. "You didn't disappoint me and you weren't stupid, in fact, the chances of you doing any of those are very, very slim." His voice was soft and tender in saying every word as she listened to him. She loved to hear him speak, even if it was only one word. 

"But I was. I yelled at you like an idiot and didn't even notice how much I was hurting you until I saw the look in your eyes." And his eyes - that was another thing she loved about him - one of many. They were this deep blue that gave so much meaning to his feelings, his feelings for her. They also displayed a plethora of emotions that she seemed to be the only one who was allowed to decipher.

"Just stop, okay? You did nothing wrong; you had every right to freak out, and I did go back on my word - I didn't set the alarm clock when I said that I would." He stood up, bringing her with him so that he could hug her. 

This felt so right to Rory. She felt so safe in his arms, so complete. She smiled up at him and kissed him softly. "So you're not mad?"

"Of course not." He kissed her again before reluctantly letting her go. "We should get to class." He motioned up to the clock, whose time seemed to pass so quickly while they were talking.

"Yeah." She grabbed her backpack and started to head for the door when Tristan called out to her.

"Rory?"

She turned, looking back at him with adoration in her eyes. "Yeah?" she asked sweetly.

"Can you come over again today?"

"I don't know. I have to clear it with my mom. After our fight last night, I'm pretty sure she doesn't us to be in the same room that has a bed in it by ourselves."

He slightly chuckled. "So, she knows, huh?"

"Yeah, but I'm kind of sure she won't mind if I promise her that we'll be studying the whole time."

"Wow," Tristan went to stand in front of her, intertwining his hands with hers, "the whole time? I don't know if I could do that." His smirk appeared on his face as Rory playfully rolled her eyes.

She pushed away from him then shot a playful glare at him. "If you're going to act like that, mister, I might just stop talking to you altogether." She took a few more steps before looking back at him again. "I'll see you tonight, Tristan." She smiled at him before turning around and heading out the library.

"What are you doing to me, Rory?" he asked the air as he smirked once more.


	8. I Won'tMaybe

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A/N: I got a review from ucobgal that included the question "…how can they have Friday night dinner at the Gilmore mansion and then Rory having classes the next day? Is that somehow logical?" And I wanted to tell you that I had the little stars (*) there to show that there as a time lapse - that's what those generally mean - so there's your clarification.

Disclaimer: You know the drill…don't own anything but the plot.

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Chapter 8: I Won't…_Maybe_

  
She felt so relieved…so happy. She had never felt this way about anyone before - the nervousness she felt in her heart as she saw Tristan, the butterflies in her stomach as he came closer to her, the smile that had always found its way to her face. She sat back comfortably in the desk as the teacher droned on about the Civil War. Why they had to teach that the Confederate and Union governments spent $3.3 billion on the war was beyond her. _Thirty more minutes_, she told herself.

***

She got up from her desk, slipping her books into her bag. She slung it over her shoulder as she walked towards the door. After she opened her locker, she noticed a note propped up against her other books.

__

Hey Mary,  
Meet me after school near the bench.

I'll be missing you.

She smiled as she found herself moving at a faster rate to get all her books into her book bag. As she neared the predetermined location, she noticed Tristan slouching down in the bench with his eyes closed. She quietly moved towards him and took in the sight of how content he looked.

"Like what you see, Mary?" Tristan asked, with his eyes still closed.

"Eh…" she shrugged her shoulders, "not really." She smiled more as she saw his eyebrows scrunch together at her joke. "And what happened to you not calling me 'Mary' anymore?" she asked intriguingly.

"Well," he said while opening his eyes and turning towards her, "I didn't realize how much I liked calling you that until I actually stopped so I guess I'm going to have to take that little promise back." His smirk grew wider as Rory's eyes started to glare at him teasingly.

"Fine," Rory fake pouted. Then her eyes lit up as she displayed a smirk of her own. "I'll just have to stop kissing and talking to you then."   
  
She got up and started to walk away from him. She only had to take a couple steps before she felt Tristan's arms around her waist - just the response she wanted. "You're not getting away from me that easy," he whispered into her ear before turning her around and kissing her. She pulled away seconds later, staring into his eyes. "Ok, ok…I'll try to stop."

Rory grinned before deciding to speak. "No, you don't have to…" she started to play with his shirt, "I actually kind of like hearing you say it.

Tristan chuckled before kissing her once more.

***

Rory and Tristan stepped into the living room and set their stuff on the couch. "Can I use your phone to call my mom?"

"Yeah, it's on the desk." Tristan nodded toward where it was located and Rory walked over, dialing the phone number to the inn.

"Hello, Independence Inn, Lorelai speaking."

"Hey, mom."

"Hey."

"I have a question for you." Rory's voice was tension-filled, and Lorelai quickly noticed.

"Uh oh…am I gonna like this?"

"I'm not all that sure…"

"What? You're killing me with this suspense."

"I'm over at Tristan's…" Rory briefly looked over at Tristan to see if he was listening.

~Silence~

"Mom?"

"I'm sorry…Tristan…as in the guy you slept with…?"

"Mom?! I didn't sleep with him…well, actually I did, but not that way!" A sudden image of how her mom had reacted to when she had fallen asleep with Dean in the dance studio flashed into Rory's mind, making her cringe at the thought.

Lorelai groaned, not wanting to fight with her daughter again. "I know, sweetie, I just don't want that to happen again until I'm dead and buried…even then, I might not want you in the same bed as a boy."

Rory laughed inwardly at her mother. "We aren't going to sleep again. It's just studying…in the living room."

"Oh, thank God for that last part!"

Rory softly laughed. "Yeah, I thought you might like that. So, I'll see you tonight?"

"Yep, bye, babe."

"Bye. Thanks, mom."

"Sure."

Rory hung up and looked at Tristan. "What?"

Tristan walked over to her and pulled her close to him. "I never thought you'd be so against sleeping with me." Tristan's smirk grew overtime.

Rory pushed him away, but not before turning a good shade of red. "We'd better start doing our homework." She sat down on the floor in front of the table and started to pull out her books.

Tristan smiled as she settled down. He walked over to her and sat behind her, moving her hair and kissing her neck.

"Tristan, what are you doing?"

"Kissing…you…" he breathed between kisses.

"I know that…" Rory softly pushed back against him so that they were leaning against the couch, "but we have homework to do."

"Who cares about homework? I'd be happy to fail if it meant spending just one minute with you." 

Rory looked into his eyes, seeing seriousness…something that she loved. She turned back around and leaned back against on his chest. "Thirty minutes. Then we do homework." She smiled while linking their fingers together. 

***

"Mom, I'm home!" Rory dropped her backpack near the door and found her mom sitting in the living room.

"Hey, how was _studying_?" Lorelai couldn't help but put emphasize the last word.

"It was fine, mom. We actually finished all our work." Rory went to sit next to her mom.  


"Good…good. So, about our little…disagreement last night-"

"You mean the one where you yelled at me for what seemed like ten hours straight? Yeah, I remember."

"Hey, I wasn't yelling…I was venting."

"Whatever, mother. What about it" Rory asked.

"Well, I just wanted to apologize - though don't misunderstand, I don't want to find out that you slept with him again or will sleep with him again - for how…eccentric I was and for displaying my concern the way that I did."

Rory nodded her head. "So…if I don't tell you that I am going to sleep with him in the same bed or that I have again, you won't mind?"

"Rory!"

"I'm just kidding, mom."

"Oh, thank God! Don't scare mommy like that again."

Rory laughed, "I won't." _maybe…_

A/N: Yeah , I know. Kind of a sucky ending, but I have to do my homework (damn History, but I at least know some stuff, huh? How about that stuff I put in the beginning? Very clever on my part, though I did use the textbook…) and I wanted to put this chapter in, so I apologize. I actually might come back and change the ending completely when I find the time…who knows what I'll think of 'til then.


End file.
